Junior and minor pro hockey Resch started his playing career as goalie for the
University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. After earning a degree in education, he turned pro with the
Muskegon Mohawks of the
IHL where he won three awards in his first season: the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the fewest goals allowed, rookie of the year honours, and selection to the First All-Star team. The following year he graduated to the
New Haven Nighthawks of the
American Hockey League and then spent most of the 1973–74 season with the
Fort Worth Wings of the
CHL, where he won the league's MVP Honours and was voted a First Team All Star. He made his NHL debut with the
New York Islanders on February 3, 1974, in a 4–2 loss to the
California Golden Seals and earned his first NHL victory two nights later, with a 6–2 win over the
Minnesota North Stars, before returning to the Wings for the remainder of the season.
New York Islanders The next season,
1974–75 was Resch's first full year in the NHL. In 25 games, he had twelve wins, seven losses, and five ties, with three shut-outs and a 2.47 goals against average. He did well in the playoffs too, earning eight wins, four losses and a 2.17 goals against average. Resch was in goal as the Islanders overcame 3–0 deficits against the
Pittsburgh Penguins and
Philadelphia Flyers. The Islanders defeated the Penguins in seven games, winning the decisive game 1–0 on a goal by team captain
Ed Westfall. The comeback is considered one of the greatest in sports history and is one of only five times in history that a
North American professional sports team won a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games (the others were the
1941–42 Toronto Maple Leafs, the
2004 Boston Red Sox (
Major League Baseball), the
2009–10 Philadelphia Flyers, and the
2013–14 Los Angeles Kings). In the following round, the Islanders again rallied from a 3–0 deficit to force a game seven, but the Flyers eliminated the Islanders with a 4–1 win in the deciding game. In
1975–76, Resch played 44 games and earned 23 wins, 11 losses, eight ties, seven shut-outs and a 2.07 goals against average resulting in his being selected to the
Second All-Star team by season's end. Over the next few seasons, he shared the goaltending duties with another promising young goalie,
Billy Smith. In 1978–79, Resch and Smith backstopped the Islanders to the best regular season record in the league, and Resch earned
Second All-Star team honours again. However, the team was beaten by the
New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup semifinals. In 1979–80, his sixth full season with the Islanders, Resch served as the backup through most of the team's successful playoff run to the Stanley Cup. He was one of the key players from the Islanders' 1979 first place team who left the team or had their roles diminished; before the end of the season, General Manager
Bill Torrey had traded away longtime and popular veterans
Billy Harris and
Dave Lewis to the
Los Angeles Kings in return for
Butch Goring.
Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils The next season, on March 10, 1981, Resch was traded to the struggling
Colorado Rockies along with
Steve Tambellini for
Mike McEwen and
Jari Kaarela. He returned to
Long Island for the first time as an opponent on February 20, 1982. The Islanders defeated the Rockies 3–2 on a goal in the final minute by
John Tonelli. The victory was the Islanders' 15th straight, which set an NHL record at the time. Resch played in Colorado for the rest of the 1980–81 season and the
1981–82 season before the franchise moved to
New Jersey to become the
New Jersey Devils. Resch shouldered a heavy load over the next few years, but the Devils did not win many games.
Philadelphia Flyers in 1986 Resch was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 11, 1986, for a third-round pick in the
1986 NHL entry draft (used to select
Marc Laniel). He served as a backup to rookie sensation
Ron Hextall in 1986–87. Resch did not play in the 1987 playoffs, when the Flyers defeated his old team, the New York Islanders, in seven games in the second round. In the pre-game warm-up of game six of the conference finals with the
Montreal Canadiens, Resch was ejected from one of the games for his part in starting a pre-game brawl with Montreal's
Claude Lemieux. The Flyers won that series but lost to the
Edmonton Oilers in seven games in the
1987 Stanley Cup Final. In 1986–87 he went 6–5–2 in 17 games, his first winning season since he left the Islanders. When he retired in 1987, he was the last active player who had been born in the 1940s. ==International play==